Minnesota to resume play
This weekend’s four-game series between the Cleveland Indians and Minnesota Twins will be played as scheduled at the Metrodome, despite the fatal freeway bridge collapse near downtown.
The Twins postponed Thursday afternoon’s game against the Kansas City Royals because of the disaster that occurred about a half-mile from the stadium. The accident sent dozens of cars into the Mississippi River as fans were filing into the Dome on Wednesday night.
Cleveland third baseman Casey Blake, who spent three seasons in the Twins’ organization, often drove over the bridge.
“It’s a big blow to that city,” Blake said.
Doerr says goodbye
Hall of Famer Bobby Doerr bid farewell to Fenway Park.
Saying he might not be up to another cross-country trip to the ballpark where he played his entire career, the 89-year-old second baseman was saluted before the Boston Red Sox beat Baltimore 7-4.
“Old baseball players never die, we just fade away,” Doerr said, echoing Gen. Douglas MacArthur’s speech to Congress.
Dubbed by Ted Williams the “silent captain of the Red Sox,” Doerr said he’ll never miss watching a game, even if not in person. To help him stay in touch from his home in Illahe, Ore., the Red Sox presented him with a television set for the second “Bobby Doerr Day” – exactly 60 years after the first.
Brewers frustrated
The Milwaukee Brewers absorbed a 12-4 pounding at the hands of the New York Mets at Miller Park, and the defeat was made even worse by a dugout dustup in which television cameras showed manager Ned Yost and catcher Johnny Estrada arguing and having to be separated.
Coupled with the dugout altercation, the Brewers had the aura of a team in disarray, never mind that they were still nearly tied for first.
“I’ve said it all along, the only thing that matters is how we play, and we just need to start playing better,” second baseman Tony Graffanino said.
Johnson sidelined
Florida Marlin’s right-hander Josh Johnson will require season-ending arm surgery and might miss the 2008 season as well.